Welcome to Ipseity, the baby name consultant service of Hannah B. Emery, PhD.

Ipseity means “selfhood” or “identity.” Hannah knows that for many families, the hard part is figuring out what kind of name you’re looking for, what aspects of your family’s identity are most important to reflect in your child’s name. So that’s the goal of all of her consults: to help families figure out what their goals are, so they can better find the perfect name for their child. As a sociologist, Hannah has spent most of the last decade studying names and naming; as a parent to two little ones, she knows how agonizing it can feel trying to find “just the right name.” She is here to help.

Since launching Ipseity, Hannah has worked with families from all around the US and with a range of backgrounds and reasons for seeking help. Some families are trying to make a list that bridges different linguistic or religious backgrounds; some are trying to figure out how to honor relatives while still choosing something unique. Some are adoptive families, or families seeking a name for a ‘rainbow baby’ after experiencing a stillbirth or pregnancy loss. Others are just trying to compromise between very different tastes. Whatever their circumstances, families consistently remark on how insightful and personalized Hannah’s work is, as well as how much fun they have reading her suggestions and analysis. Sometimes families choose a name from Hannah’s recommended list; other times, her research is the final tool they need to show them that they had the perfect name on their list the whole time.

Starting June 2020: Pay What You Think It’s Worth
In recognition of the fact that everyone’s circumstances are different, this summer Hannah has converted her service to a Pay What You Think It’s Worth model. This allows each family to be the judge of how valuable you find the service.

Find more information about pricing and types of available consults here!

California Parents: Click here to read about the special regional data Hannah has available just for you!

Privacy Policy
While I may talk about your consult in abstract terms in my promotional material, all the information you give me about your family will remain confidential. I will never share parents’ names or last/family names, and will share children’s names only in contexts where they’d be very hard to identify (like “A family looking for a name that sounded good with Big Brother Leo”).

Unless we explicitly made arrangements for your consult to appear in my portfolio, I will not show any version of your consult to anyone but you. Any portfolio consults will have identifying information removed.